All the Right Moves is not a great movie. I’m just gonna get that out of the way, but I want you to stick with me on this and keep reading. I’ve got a lot to say about this weird little slice of forgotten cinema that I think may convince you to give it a look either way. And I think that’s the takeaway when this is over, that yes, movies can be different and while perhaps some may be viewed as a failure, might actually have something to offer for those patient enough to try something off the beaten track.
It is directed by the late Michael Chapman, who is a name you probably don’t know but has quite the history. He was most known for his cinematography, filming such titles as Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, The Lost Boys, The Fugitive, Primal Fear, and many more, spanning a career from 1973 to 2007. That’s pretty impressive. He only directed three feature films however (and one television event), the most commercially memorable perhaps being The Clan of the Cave Bear, starring Daryl Hannah, another unsuccessful film that didn’t fare well at the box office or with critics. That film and All the Right Moves are not traditional in how they tell their stories, even as they appear to be clinging to a tried and true formula, a statement I admit is a little clunky, but let me explain.
First, the plot. All the Right Moves stars Tom Cruise as Stefen “Stef” Djordjevic, a senior at a small industrial steel town called Ampipe. Times are tough as the mill is laying workers off and there’s nearly no opportunities economically or otherwise. All the town has to keep it going is its football, the local team giving the economically depressed townsfolk their only glimmer of hope. Playing defensive end for the squad, Stef has dreams of going to a top college on a sports scholarship, using the game to get into engineering school. Supporting him is his father (Charles Cioffi) and brother (Gary Graham), both steel workers who want a better life for Stef, and Lisa (Lea Thompson), his long-time girlfriend who has dreams of her own.
All seems like it’s going to work out, but the team coach (Craig T. Nelson) doesn’t much care for Stef’s style of play, one that gets Stef in trouble one important game, eventually getting him kicked off the team. That begins a series of events that leads Stef on his own personal journey, navigating the hardships of life with few chances to succeed, greater demands on being a good boyfriend, and learning well, you guessed it, all the right moves to becoming a better man.
All of that sounds rather played out, and yes it is. It’s so formulaic, it’s practically bland, plot point-wise. So all it’s got is the charisma of its actors and the manner in which Chapman lays it all on the table. The charisma thing is in the bag of course. Cruise is, even in these early films, fun to watch, even if he is starting here what becomes the standard for most of the first half of his career. Thompson is a joy as well, sweet, tender, compassionate, and inspiring, she has a few small moments that try to give her character some weight in the plot, including a bit where she complains how unfair it is that jocks get the scholarship but music students don’t. Good stuff. She makes a decision about sex, too that I think would have been much more impactful if the story had more time for her. Either way, it’s an authentic moment. And I like what Nelson does as the coach, which of course must have led to his later role in the hit television sitcom Coach.
But we come to the part where All the Right Moves will win you over or push you out the door, and that’s Chapman’s approach to Stef’s slice of life. He’s in nearly every scene, as we expect, but we witness life around him as well, in small fractured moments that paint a greater picture of the landscape he traverses that he never truly ‘sees’. This includes upfront, his relationship to Brian (Chris Penn), the star on the team who has gotten his girlfriend pregnant, a standard trope in the genre, but while Stef thinks it a fault in he and Brian’s plans for an exodus, it is far less so for Brian. That’s a nice twist. We even get a chance to see what that is like for the girlfriend, in a brief glimpse of exhaustion at a house party. I loved that moment, even as it flittered away a second later. If you watch this, pay attention to the work that must have gone into a scene that is barely ten seconds long.
There are others as well, and it’s not the least a bit jarring as Chapman barely holds the camera (as just mentioned) on a scene for more than a blink sometimes, two characters saying something that sounds important before disappearing, never to be heard from again. Fact is, the film goes about forty-five minutes before anything truly happens that feels connected to the coming plot pivot, Chapman almost obsessed with showcasing 1980s middle American high school life at its rawest. Modern high school movies are so polished and so overly-stereotypically outfitted that they hardly feel real. Ampipe High School feels real. What works about this is the sincerity Chapman aims to soak his film in, spending a lot of time dragging us through the grimy streets, dropping us in the working class spirit, for good or bad. It’s like a scrapbook with a few pages torn out, and we’re meant to piece together what it means.
It doesn’t always work. There are moments that just feel disconnected, and while that is cleary Chapman’s intent, it leaves the film more like a work in progress than a solid narrative. We can see the ending from the first frame and Chapman, working from a story by Michael Kane, doesn’t try for a second to subvert that expectation, even giving the last freeze frame a kind of platitude that makes your eyes want to roll, but … and this is a strong but … there is an earthiness to this film, an honesty and a committed attempt at presenting something different with parts that only fit together one way. It is a noble experiment that many will not find worth the time. I’ll admit that. I struggled through some of it, wondering what I was watching. But also, a few days later now, I keep thinking about it. I keep wanting to revisit this little town and feel what these kids feel. Is All the Right Moves under appreciated? I won’t go that far, it’s flaws in the story it’s downfall, but I urge you to give it a look for HOW it’s told. See if it’s something that gets you thinking, too.